WGSS290 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/05/2024	This class is so so interesting and Dr. Mathiason is really knowledgeable and passionate about the content. She's an easy grader, if you're just taking it for the GenEd, but honestly the readings/lectures are so interesting anyways that you'll probably want to stay engaged just on your own. I think it is unfair that another reviewer gave her one star because the class wasn't an "easy diversity A." First of all, if you use the correct theorists and terms (which is easy because the quizzes are open note and untimed), she is not a harsh grader at all. Second, the class is worth 3 different GenEds, and the workload is more than reasonable when you consider that. I think some students have this expectation that gender studies and other "diversity" courses should be easy A's because of their disciplines, which is unfair and in my opinion proof of why these GenEds have to exist in the first place.
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/11/2024	I thought this GenEd would be an easy diversity A and boy was I wrong. This was my worst class with a ridiculous workload and extremely hard grading. Three times a week you were expected to read 20+ pages on wordy and confusing concepts with little to no breakdown for understanding. She goes over the content in lecture (which she posts) but if you ever miss class the notes make no sense without context. There are three exams, noncumulative, a paper, group project, and a debate. These are literally the only grades so if you do badly in one it will significantly impact your grade. You definitely don't have to go to every class but attending and taking notes is the only way to pass the exams. Overall, interesting topics but I would never recommend this class to anyone.
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2023	I learned so so much in this class! I had no idea what this class was about and signed up for it last minute because it had many geneds. It was super eye opening and everyone in my class was so passionate about the topic which really kept me interested. Highly highly recommend. Lots of great discussions and important topics. Dr. Mathiason is a great professor with a lot of knowledge and opinions on the topic. Pros: 3 Open note, untimed quizzes (a few short answer and a short essay), posted slides (no need to take notes), attendance isn't mandatory, small class so discussion based, Dr. Mathiason is very approachable and passionate(she learned everyone's names which was really sweet), there are some extra credit opportunities, most people in my class got A's or B's i believe Cons: Very long readings (I'm talking 30 pages per class :/) the readings aren't super necessary, but they help you participate and are pretty interesting usually, the projects/paper give you a lot of freedom which can be good or bad, grading on the paper was a little tough, group project and debate were pretty difficult for me, some topics may be triggering for some people?? Advice: Listen and participate when you can! Start thinking of ideas for the group project early. This is definitely not an easy class even though there are not many assignments. You can ask for an extension also. Great for 3 GenEds!!!
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/13/2023	Dr. Mathiason is a very enjoyable professor and person in general. The material is very relevant, and she does a great job portraying other perspectives and challenging closed mindsets! The main assignments consist of three quizzes, an essay for the midterm, and a couple of group projects. Alongside weekly readings, this workload is very manageable. She provides helpful feedback on all assignments and is very open about her expectations for each assignment. Do not be afraid to participate or ask for clarification, as she definitely cares about her students and the material she teaches!
Zenzele Isoke WGSS290 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 08/23/2023	I took this class over the summer and I would NOT recommend. Professor Isoke was completely unorganized. The majority of this class is discussion posts and analysis essays of art from the readings. The discussion posts were easy to get full credit, but the essays had totally arbitrary grading with no rubric and no prompt. The professor fumbled the ball every week in one way or another. Assignment submissions were missing, assignments were changed without notice, and there was very little communication. She is the absolute most unprepared professor I have ever had. I do feel like I learned something because the readings were relevant to the course but I would never recommend this professor to a friend.
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/15/2023	The class itself is pretty easy but she grades really harsh so it is not an easy A. The content was really interesting and I learned a lot. This class is very liberal. Make sure to skim over the readings before class so you have something to talk about when you participate. Aim to participate at least once every class. START ON THE GROUP PROJECTS EARLY. She gives you only like two weeks to finish em so just get it out of the way. Follow the directions on the quiz. Use a google doc to take notes so you can easily ctrl-f during a quiz. The work load is pretty low. She gives lots of feedback on your work. She's a nice person and easy to talk to. I went to her to talk about personal stuff.
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/11/2023	great course all that, dr. grades way too harsh for most students who are NOT WGSS majors, has usually no rubric so point breakdowns are completely up to her discretion as she grades, and very few assignments that make up your grade. worthwhile course though for a gen-ed that counts for 3 categories
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/14/2022	Dr. Mathiason is an excellent professor with a passion for the material that she teaches. This course is discussion-based, and includes a lot of interesting material that can help you to challenge your perceptions of the world. The work is easy if you pay attention, though. One thing to keep in mind is that the reading can be a little difficult and verbose if you're not used to certain topics in philosophy, as much of the assignments rely on applying Foucault in some way.
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Anonymous 04/26/2022	She grades really harshly and doesn't follow any kind of course material. Very passionate about the material so you can offend her/class easily. It can be a lot of work because you find the topic to do the projects on. The readings are long and difficult to understand but not necessary to participate in the discussion. The class participation can be a little unfair so don't skip the class.
Jessica Mathiason WGSS290 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/25/2021	Loved this class and really recommend Dr. Mathiason. She's really great at teaching the material and the in-class discussion was really interesting and engaging. For WGSS290, all three exams were online and had no time limit. The rest of the grades for the class were essays, the group project, debate, and class participation. There were daily readings which were pretty hefty (like 15-30 pages), and the assignments definitely required effort. If you find the class description interesting, take the class, you will not regret it. If not, imo it's a lot more work for just 3 credits and the gened.

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/05/2024

This class is so so interesting and Dr. Mathiason is really knowledgeable and passionate about the content. She's an easy grader, if you're just taking it for the GenEd, but honestly the readings/lectures are so interesting anyways that you'll probably want to stay engaged just on your own. I think it is unfair that another reviewer gave her one star because the class wasn't an "easy diversity A." First of all, if you use the correct theorists and terms (which is easy because the quizzes are open note and untimed), she is not a harsh grader at all. Second, the class is worth 3 different GenEds, and the workload is more than reasonable when you consider that. I think some students have this expectation that gender studies and other "diversity" courses should be easy A's because of their disciplines, which is unfair and in my opinion proof of why these GenEds have to exist in the first place.

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/11/2024

I thought this GenEd would be an easy diversity A and boy was I wrong. This was my worst class with a ridiculous workload and extremely hard grading. Three times a week you were expected to read 20+ pages on wordy and confusing concepts with little to no breakdown for understanding. She goes over the content in lecture (which she posts) but if you ever miss class the notes make no sense without context. There are three exams, noncumulative, a paper, group project, and a debate. These are literally the only grades so if you do badly in one it will significantly impact your grade. You definitely don't have to go to every class but attending and taking notes is the only way to pass the exams. Overall, interesting topics but I would never recommend this class to anyone.

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/16/2023

I learned so so much in this class! I had no idea what this class was about and signed up for it last minute because it had many geneds. It was super eye opening and everyone in my class was so passionate about the topic which really kept me interested. Highly highly recommend. Lots of great discussions and important topics. Dr. Mathiason is a great professor with a lot of knowledge and opinions on the topic. Pros: 3 Open note, untimed quizzes (a few short answer and a short essay), posted slides (no need to take notes), attendance isn't mandatory, small class so discussion based, Dr. Mathiason is very approachable and passionate(she learned everyone's names which was really sweet), there are some extra credit opportunities, most people in my class got A's or B's i believe Cons: Very long readings (I'm talking 30 pages per class :/) the readings aren't super necessary, but they help you participate and are pretty interesting usually, the projects/paper give you a lot of freedom which can be good or bad, grading on the paper was a little tough, group project and debate were pretty difficult for me, some topics may be triggering for some people?? Advice: Listen and participate when you can! Start thinking of ideas for the group project early. This is definitely not an easy class even though there are not many assignments. You can ask for an extension also. Great for 3 GenEds!!!

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/13/2023

Dr. Mathiason is a very enjoyable professor and person in general. The material is very relevant, and she does a great job portraying other perspectives and challenging closed mindsets! The main assignments consist of three quizzes, an essay for the midterm, and a couple of group projects. Alongside weekly readings, this workload is very manageable. She provides helpful feedback on all assignments and is very open about her expectations for each assignment. Do not be afraid to participate or ask for clarification, as she definitely cares about her students and the material she teaches!

Zenzele Isoke
WGSS290

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
08/23/2023

I took this class over the summer and I would NOT recommend. Professor Isoke was completely unorganized. The majority of this class is discussion posts and analysis essays of art from the readings. The discussion posts were easy to get full credit, but the essays had totally arbitrary grading with no rubric and no prompt. The professor fumbled the ball every week in one way or another. Assignment submissions were missing, assignments were changed without notice, and there was very little communication. She is the absolute most unprepared professor I have ever had. I do feel like I learned something because the readings were relevant to the course but I would never recommend this professor to a friend.

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/15/2023

The class itself is pretty easy but she grades really harsh so it is not an easy A. The content was really interesting and I learned a lot. This class is very liberal. Make sure to skim over the readings before class so you have something to talk about when you participate. Aim to participate at least once every class. START ON THE GROUP PROJECTS EARLY. She gives you only like two weeks to finish em so just get it out of the way. Follow the directions on the quiz. Use a google doc to take notes so you can easily ctrl-f during a quiz. The work load is pretty low. She gives lots of feedback on your work. She's a nice person and easy to talk to. I went to her to talk about personal stuff.

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/11/2023

great course all that, dr. grades way too harsh for most students who are NOT WGSS majors, has usually no rubric so point breakdowns are completely up to her discretion as she grades, and very few assignments that make up your grade. worthwhile course though for a gen-ed that counts for 3 categories

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Expecting an A
Anonymous
06/14/2022

Dr. Mathiason is an excellent professor with a passion for the material that she teaches. This course is discussion-based, and includes a lot of interesting material that can help you to challenge your perceptions of the world. The work is easy if you pay attention, though. One thing to keep in mind is that the reading can be a little difficult and verbose if you're not used to certain topics in philosophy, as much of the assignments rely on applying Foucault in some way.

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Anonymous
04/26/2022

She grades really harshly and doesn't follow any kind of course material. Very passionate about the material so you can offend her/class easily. It can be a lot of work because you find the topic to do the projects on. The readings are long and difficult to understand but not necessary to participate in the discussion. The class participation can be a little unfair so don't skip the class.

Jessica Mathiason
WGSS290

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/25/2021

Loved this class and really recommend Dr. Mathiason. She's really great at teaching the material and the in-class discussion was really interesting and engaging. For WGSS290, all three exams were online and had no time limit. The rest of the grades for the class were essays, the group project, debate, and class participation. There were daily readings which were pretty hefty (like 15-30 pages), and the assignments definitely required effort. If you find the class description interesting, take the class, you will not regret it. If not, imo it's a lot more work for just 3 credits and the gened.

Reviews for WGSS290